Just a few questions

Hey guys this is my first post, but I've been reading the forum for help for awhile. I had a question. I'm trying to decide on what to do with buying my own mower. I had been using my friends zero turn for this first season, but I really want to be completely independent for the next season. My question is that I would really like to buy a mower in cash, and I'm not opposed to buying used, but I want one with good dealer support. The problem is I am just not finding any good deals on used mowers in town and the surrounding area. So I was wondering any help y'all could give with the situation. Any tricks to finding good deals? also with walk behinds what is the pros and cons, or hydro driven vs belt driven. Sorry for a hefty post just ready for help. Thanks in advance!!